8 | SEPTEMBER 16 • 2021
D
uring their meetings
at the White House
on Aug. 27, President
Joe Biden told Israeli Prime
Minister Naftali Bennett that
the U.S. is committed “to
ensur[ing] Iran
never develops a
nuclear weapon
… We’re putting
diplomacy first
and seeing where
that takes us. But
if diplomacy fails,
we’re ready to
turn to other options.
”
The Biden administration
made it clear from the get-go
that it intended to return to
the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA) — the
2015 nuclear deal, negotiated
by former President Barack
Obama, from which former
President Donald Trump
withdrew in 2018.
Lest one think that the
current attempt to reverse
Trump’s move indicates
the success of the previous
policy forged by Obama,
Iran consistently violated the
JCPOA. Furthermore, the
Biden administration’s efforts
have not only failed abysmally
but have emboldened the
terror-supporting Iranian
regime in its pursuit of nuclear
weapons.
Before the JCPOA was
finalized, the Obama
administration had repeatedly
approved the increase of
sanctions on Tehran, making it
desperate for a negotiated deal
as its economy was crumbling.
A major criticism of the JCPOA
was the elimination of these
sanctions, enabling Iran to
receive more than $100 billion.
Moreover, the JCPOA
lacked stringent nuclear-
oversight provisions and clauses
deterring Iran’s ballistic-missile
program and global terrorist
activities. With the influx of
cash, Iran increased its defense
budget by 40%, and enhanced
funding to its proxies, such as
the Lebanon-based terrorist
organization Hezbollah and
Hamas, which rules Gaza. It
was also able to expand its
ballistic-missile program, while
still pursuing nuclear weapons
— as Israel’s 2018 seizure of
a trove of documents from a
warehouse in Tehran illustrated.
As a result of the above,
Trump exited the JCPOA and
reinstituted massive sanctions
on Iran, with much success.
Iran’s economy suffered greatly,
and the regime was unable
to provide the same level of
support to Hezbollah and
Hamas.
In addition, the Trump
administration carried out the
Jan. 3, 2020, assassination of
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps’ Quds Force
commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem
Soleimani. Subsequently,
on Nov. 27 that year, Israel
assassinated the head of Iran’s
nuclear program, Mohsen
Fakhrizadeh.
It is thus that Iran did not
want Trump to remain in office
for a second term. This was
borne out by U.S. intelligence
that Iran was attempting to
interfere in the November 2020
American presidential elections
in favor of Biden.
Seeking diplomacy as a way
to prevent a nuclearized Iran,
the Biden administration wants
Farley Weiss
JNS.org
PURELY COMMENTARY
opinion
The Urgency of Preventing
a Nuclear-Armed Iran
THE JOY OF SUKKOT continued from page 6
movie inspired Sukkah De Los
Luchadores (Mexican masked
wrestlers).
When Sukkot arrives, I feel a
palpable rush of simchah during
that first Minchah/Maariv ser-
vice. I look around at my peers
and can see in their expressions
the exuberance of the season.
The first minyan on any given
holiday is about arrival. We made
it — Shehecheyanu! Anything
that hasn’t been done by can-
dlelighting won’t be done, and
believe me, we never finish
everything. When it’s time to
cease from melachah (acts of
creation), we really do stop. The
feeling of letting go is intense-
ly liberating, especially when
plunging into the ultimate season
of joy, Sukkot.
I strive to keep the joy flowing
all eight days of the week. I go
into a half-time work mode so
I can attend parties and chill
in my own sukkah. Jewish law
stipulates that any formal meals
(involving motzi or m’zonot
blessings over bread) must be
eaten in a sukkah. Not that I have
to be coerced to dine al fresco —
I love my sukkah! My kids each
get their own carefully selected
lulav and etrog and we proudly
march about every morning
holding aloft our arba minim
(four species). This holiday offers
permission for even the stodgy,
stoic types to get on the same
happy page, 24/7. We relish in
the feeling of victory after our
assumed favorable judgment on
Rosh Hashanah and whitewash-
ing on Yom Kippur. Most of us
have spent a month-and-a-half of
heightened scrutiny of our per-
sonal balance sheet. We recon-
nect with our true purpose; our
elation is heartfelt.
SUKKOT IN ISRAEL
I wish everyone could experi-
ence what it’s like to be in Israel
during Sukkot. As much as I
love celebrating in L.A., there is
nothing like the unfettered joy of
Sukkot in the Promised Land. In
Israel, the celebration of Sukkot
is of another dimension.
Sukkot is indeed the capital
of joy. Just sitting in a sukkah is
a delightful mitzvah. The rest
of the world relies on the per-
manence of well-built buildings
and homes. Jews believe the only
shelter we truly need is under the
wings of our Creator, as repre-
sented by the fragile sukkah. This
is where we feel totally secure
and totally joyous.
When our forefather Yaakov
made it back to the Holy Land
after dealing with his crooked
father-in-law Lavan for 22 years,
the first city he established was
named after the temporary pens
for his flocks, Sukkot. In the
words of Chassidic master Rabbi
Leibele Eiger, at that moment
he made permanent the con-
dition of impermanence. Our
human fragility can be a source
of consternation or celebration.
As Jews, we are commanded to
celebrate!
May we all merit to rejoice
together in the ultimate sukkah
in our Homeland, bimheira b’ya-
meinu (speedily in our days).
Sam Glaser is a performer, composer,
producer and author in Los Angeles. He
has released 25 albums of his composi-
tions and produces music in his Glaser
Musicworks recording studio.